The Pancreatitis thread

[Dogmo]

Yes Dottie, the link you posted to the rabbit & cranberry nuggets is the one that Max will be having.

Tinyplanets - the  banquet one is quite alot higher in fat so Max won't be having that one. He will be trying the venison one at some point though.

[Dogmo]

Sorry to post again, but I am a little confused again. This may be another one for David.

Earlier David posted a link to the Natures Menu Complete Meals Adult, which show a fat content of 13.3% on the blue dial. I had been recommended another raw complete by Natures Menu, the Country Hunter Rabbit, I had done the dry matter calculation myself and I came up with 13.3%. However when I looked up the country hunter nuggets on the dog food directory, the blue dial shows the fat content as being 20%. For both of these types of raw complete the listed fat content is 4%, and the moisture content is 70%, so surely (if I have done the calculation correctly) both types of meal will have a fat content of 13.3%.

If someone could clear this up for me that would be great.

Thank you.

[Dottie]

No need to apologise - getting my head round this is good for delaying dementia!  LOL.   I got the same figure as you. Looking at the rabbit variety (as per link) it looks something like this:

Moisture is 70% so that leaves 30% dry matter.
Divide 4% fat by the dry matter
Multiply by 100 = 13.33%

Unfortunately I can't help you with coming to an understanding of this so as you say, I think it is one for David and he will probably pick up on it when he gets the chance to pop into the forum.  Meanwhile, as he says, regardless of fat content, that particular food is easily digested and should reduce the load on the pancreas.

[George]

I'm certain  the calculation of 13.33% is correct, and the dial doesn't show 20% when I look at it, it's not easy to read but it looks more like about 14%.

Are you sure you're not just reading the number shown on the dial? I think that's not the result,  just the max number the dial goes up to..

[Tinyplanets]

Thats what confused me as the rabbit and the tripe one was showing a similar fat content on the dials.

Ah that might explain a lot George.

[George]

I just went back for another look at the dial, and the number at the bottom of it reads 13.3% now...

Are you playing with it as we speak, David? 

[Dottie]

The dry matter dial for fat on the Country Hunter nuggets, rabbit variety is showing 13.3% for me. In fact all of them are showing this. I've re-read your post but wonder if I am misunderstanding? 
*We posted at the same time! LOL

[David]

Yes indeed. Sorry about that. It was an error with the figures on the database. All fixed now though. I've also double checked the rest of the NM range and all of the details appear correct.

[Dogmo]

Great. Thank you for clarifying that one for me.

[Eden Holistic Pet Foods]

pancreatitis is often caused by high carbohydrate level rather than high fat levels, since to digest carbs the pancreas has to attempt to produce more amylase and other enzymes in higher amounts than it really sould, and this stress causes inflammation, and can eventually lead to insulin resistance and diabetes

[Dottie]

Dogmo - just wondering how your dog is getting on with the new food? I guess that you will have a fair idea by now. 

[AB2015]

My 16 month old beagle is currently being treated in emergency vet for pancreatitis. Reading up AADF article on prescription diets, I want to avoid them.
I am keen to feed cold pressed. Do you think this would be suitable? (Can't post links but it's Lukullus Beef & Trout)
Despite being a beagle she is a very fussy eater but seems to like this so I am keen to keep her on it.
Any advice greatly appreciated, many thanks.

[Dottie]

I am sorry to hear about your Beagle's illness - he is very young to be having pancreatitis.  Has the vet been able to say what caused it? I hope that following treatment at the vets he makes a full recovery. 

With regards to cold pressed food I feed this myself but use Gentle.  It is very similar and in fact is made in the same factory by the same company.  As has been pointed out on this thread, the aim is for low fat but often with commercial foods this comes at the expense of higher than average carbohydrate and Lukullus is no exception.  It is a shame that Dogmo has not returned to the thread to appraise us of progress since using Natures Menu Country Hunter nuggets as it might have been helpful to you.  This product  seems to have a reasonable fat level and is lower than some of the other prepared raw meals.  If you have the freezer space it might be worth trying for a few weeks.  The company have a help line if you need further advice.  You could also run a search on the Dog Food Directory of this website but set the slider in the Filters section to a lower fat level.

If you don't fancy raw or haven't the freezer space, perhaps have a look at  Wainwright's products (Pets at Home).  Having recently checked them out, I noticed that their grain free wet food is low fat.  Link The dry matter fat level is 0.4 and the carbohydrate on the border line between low and average.  However, have a word with the vet and take the dry matter figures with you as it is these that are important.  I am hoping that one of the other experienced members will come along and advise further.

[Dottie]

There has just been a post on the Gentle Facebook page from someone whose dog has pancreatitis.  I know that it is just one dog, and anecdotal but I thought it might be worth sharing it as pancreatitis seems to be a fairly common illness.

Apparently the dog is doing really well on this product after refusing to eat next to nothing for 2 1/2 weeks and losing 4kg in weight.  She had been hospitalised for five days so must have been quite poorly.  Apparently she was refusing food but has taken to the cold pressed food quite readily and is now getting stronger, although she has some way to go.  I hope that she eventually regains full health.

[SarahB]

Hi All

I'm new to this site and am hoping the collective brains out there will be able to help...

I have an 11 year old Bearded Collie.  She came to us when she was 6 years old and was fed on James Wellbeloved dry food - usually the white fish & rice variety.  She did very well on this until a couple of years ago when she started having occasional stomach upsets - early in the morning her stomach would start gurgling very loudly and all she wanted to do was go out and eat grass.  She would pass a normal stool but would be clearly 'down', lethargic and off her food until late in the afternoon when she picks up and wants her food.  The stomach gurgling is sometimes accompanied by flatulence and very occasionally she has a bout of diarrhoea.  The following day she absolutely fine and back to full Beardie bounce.

The vet's diagnoses was possible pancreatitis and recommend a change to Royal Canin Low Fat prescription diet.  I know that such foods aren't always what they claim to be but the change in diet did immediately resolve the stomach problems, so we have stuck with it and she has been symptom free for a good 18 months or so.  However the symptoms have now returned and she is now having one of these episodes once a week.  Blood tests including a mal absorption test have come back normal and the vet is puzzled.  So for 6 days out of 7 we have an extremely fit & healthy Beardie, showing no signs of age, and not on any medication.

The obvious thing is to try her on a different food but I'm struggling to know what to try and have spent hours trying to work it all out.  The main difference between the James Wellbeloved and prescription diet was the drop in Fibre and Fat content.  The prescription diet is poultry based and does contain wheat, so it makes sense to head for a grain free, fish based food.  But the low fat ones I can find, seem to be much higher in fibre e.g. Wafcol Salmon & Potato.  Is this a bad thing? Something like Robbie's Brown Rice & Salmon has similar levels of Fibre & Fats but still includes Oats.  So really confused as to which way to go 

Just wondered if anyone has any similar experience and can offer advice?